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Hater (E. Uangow 

M 11 II «9 »«■ yi U II ii H — 11- 






OCT 22 1917 



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1 . Abd Allah, the Potter - - 9 

2. Prayer - - - - - 17 

3. The Perfect Man - - - 23 

4. Abd Allah's Philosophy - - - 29 

5. The Man Who Resisted - - 35 

6. The Woman Who Was Poor - - 43 

7. Jethro's Song - - - 31 

8. The Power oi Silence - - - 55 

9. The House That Stood in Darkntess - 61 
10. Love - . - - - 69 
1 I . The Man Who Lost A Friend - - - 79 






(iuttbtage. Ma. 



Khh Alia!? t^t f otto 



Kbh AUaii t^t futte 




ND the sun streaming in through the 
eastern window, awakened Abd Allah, 
the potter. He stretched his lithe, mus- 
cular body luxuriously, and rubbing his 
eyes sat up. The boy Jethro lay wrap- 
ped in slumber, his harp close at hand. 

"Jethro, Jethro," called Abd Allah, "tis morn 
— get thee to the well and fetch up the water for 
the morning meal." 

Jethro got sleepily into his picturesque cos- 
tume of crimson with its heavy blue silken sash. 
He was a happy type of youth, a true son of the 
orient— his skin the color of copper and his ravin 
locks matted in curls to his well shaped head. 
Some years before Abd Allah had found him beg- 
ging in the streets of Jerusalem, and had taken 
him home. Of his early life little was known, save 
that at one time he lived on a boat which sailed 
the Nile. And it was upon this boat that an old 
sailor taught him to play the harp. His voice 
which was natural and clear had a warmth of ex- 
pression seldom found in an untrained singer. 

Pushing aside the heavy curtain of woolen 
stuff that covered the door-way of their abode, 
Abd Allah stepped into the outer court and raised 
his eyes to the eastern heavens. It was a new day 
and the sky was a mass of gold and crimson, shot 
with the palest mauve. "The heavens declare the 
glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His 
handiwork," breathed Abd Allah. There was a 

9 



thrill in his voice as he repeated it, and he felt the 
impetus of the new day creeping over him and 
thus he reasoned: 

It is a new day, fresh from the hands of God, 
and I am a new man (idea) fresh from the hands 
of God. I have but the glowing, ever present, now, 
which is pregnant with opportunity and goodness. 
And as this day cannot look back into yesterday, 
neither can I bring from yesterday any of its 
storms or sorrows. And as to the day, every 
flower that it finds and every bird that goes 
trailing through the long hours, are new and fresh 
acquaintances to it, so every man that I meet shall 
be new and good to me, a friend and brother. 

As he stood filling his soul full of the morning 
and the glories of the new day, a single bird 
winged his way into the liquid blue, screaming his 
wild song of joy. It was almost as if his thoughts 
had taken the "Wings of the morning." And as he 
was thus setting his house (mind) in order for the 
day, Jethro came through the large open gate-way 
with the jar of water on his head. He, too, had 
been drinking in the wonders of the heavens, and, 
setting the jar of water down, he stood beside Abd 
Allah and said: 

"Look across that silver sea of Olive trees, 
there in the valley of the Mount — see how she 
stands wrapped in that bluish mist. Is it not beau- 
tiful, Father Abd Allah? And see how those yel- 
low-green banana trees sway their great leaves in 
the breeze. The odor of a thousand wild vines and 
flowers fill the air. Is it not a wonderful world. 



and are we not rich, Father Abd, to have this pic- 
ture ever before us?" 

And Abd Allah said: "Praise be unto God 
whose handiwork is shown." 

^ ^ ^ ^ 

Now, Abd Allah was a potter by trade, and he 
worked into the color of his vases the glories of the 
heavens and nature, and into his designs he 
painted wonderful lessons of gratitude and peace. 
He was also a letter writer, and in short, a sort of 
confessional, or justice — inasmuch as those in 
trouble came to him with their problems for solu- 
tion, and he would always send them away satis- 
fied and with new courage. And, lastly, Abd 
Allah (which means servant of God) was a true 
servant of the Most High. 

Of friends Abd Allah had many and these he 
found among the masses. They included every- 
thing from the lordly nobleman, with his wonder- 
ful palace of snowy marble, to the humble herd- 
man, who gathered and ate the sycamore fruit. In 
short he had a breadth of love that reached out to 
all. 

His cabin, which was two small rooms, stood 
in an enclosed court and faced the east. In front 
of the cabin stood a thick, bushy almont tree, and 
it was under the shade of this tree that Abd sat 
day by day working at his vases, or writing letters 
— and it was close at hand that Jethro sat and 
sung to Abd and played on his harp. A glance at 
the open door-way, with naught but a heavy, 
oriental curtain, immediately bespoke of the 

11 



moral courage of the man Abd-^and of his open, 
God-fearing nature, for their cabin was located in 
the outskirts of Jerusalem, near one of the less 
frequented of its seven gates, and many consid- 
ered it unsafe to leave their doors and windows 
unbarred against thieves. 

And oft-times, as he worked, Abd Allah told 
the story of his vase to Jethro, and sometimes, 
perchance he was starting a new vase, he would 
work into it the solution and the problem of some 
troubled one, who had come by burdened with too 
much care. 

Abd Allah had learned, years before, that as 
a pebble thrown into a pool of water will bring one 
ring after another to the surface until they reach 
the outer edge, so that one good thought dropped 
into the stagnant mind would bring ring after 
ring of thought to the surface, until the whole 
mind had been stirred to a change of base, and he 
likewise knew that by dropping these thoughts 
into the pool of a dormant or sick mind, at last, 
when enough had been dropped into its depths, it 
would rise and flow off in a tiny stream, and by 
flowing (becoming active) would purify itself, 
and, not only thereby receive a blessing, but would 
water field and forest and prove a benefit to man- 
kind. And if it had been unloved and shunned as 
a stagnant pool, little children might wade in the 
cool depths of a brook and scatter flowers on its 
surface. 

"Love is the only active element of the Uni- 
Terse," Abd had told Jethro. "Be sure you are 

12 



filled with love all the while — let naught else into 
your consciousness, and as you go you will reflect 
it in some way that "will draw all men unto you." 
So Jethro reflected his love through song and 
music, and Abd Allah through his well modulated, 
sonorous voicings of Truth and his pottery. But 
there are many modes of "letting your light so 
shine before men" that they will call you blessed. 




frag^r 




T was the hour of prayer in the city of 
Jerusalem. About the gate where Abd 
Allah and Jethro were stationed many 
of the merchants and loiterers were 
kneeling and calling upon the name of 
their God to succor and help them. The little band 
about Abd Allah stood listening in silence to the 
mumblings of the men at prayer. "Tell us some- 
thing of true prayer, Abd Allah," said one of the 
men standing near him; "something for which 
this outward expression stands." 

"We admit," Abd Allah began, "that God is 
good, that He is All, that He is everywhere, and 
the cause and effect of all that really exists. We 
acknowledge Him to be the source from which 
every good gift comes. 

"Further, in the line of common reasoning, we 
know that prayer in its generally accepted sense 
means desire. This being the case, we begin to 
see that our very desires or prayers, in so far as 
they are good, proceed from God, and are not as 
we formerly supposed self-originated requests or 
petitions, but rather the urge of God (good) en^ 
deavoring to find expression in us — good, endeav- 
oring to be made manifest in the flesh. 

"Perhaps, for example, you are praying for 
health. You are desiring it, but as God is the only 
creator and good, in reality your desire for health 
is but the will of God trying to express itself 
through you. *God is willing to do exceeding 
abundantly — more than we ask or think.' God is 

17 



'willing' it. And as your desire for health is 
prompted by His willingness to be expressed in 
perfect strength, you reverse the proposition and 
find that, in reality, health and strength of God, 
good, are seeking to find expression in you; not 
you seeking to bring them into your thought. 

"If you are praying for supply, is it not in 
reality God's fullness seeking further expression 
in you? Is it not the ^Still small voice' calling for 
a greater expression of substance, God? God is 
all substance; then the desire for supply is a 
greater desire for God, or God endeavoring to 
make Himself more manifest. And suddenly you 
turn from your prayers of beseeching to the atti- 
tude of 'Speak for thy Servant heareth' — 'Not my 
will but thine be done.' You begin endeavoring to 
find out what His wishes are. 

"Then our part in prayer, after we have ac- 
claimed God as all and ever-present good, is to 
relax — to let go and step aside; to literally and 
figuratively say 'Glorify thy Son that thy son may 
also glorify thee;' that is, 'Make thyself manifest 
in me — fulfill thy desires.' Fling open v/ide the por- 
tals of your mind and bid Him enter who waits 
without ; make thyself wholly and holy acceptable 
to Him, to use for His good pleasures, and your 
desires and prayers will find their rightful ex- 
pression. 

"Having given yourself over to His express- 
ion, see that no selfishness enters, and tries to 
hoard up His expression of Love as it passes 
through you. You are merely a channel, a stew- 

18 



ard placed in charge of the gift, a caretaker, but 
not an owner. Use freely His Love like you do the 
air about you, but see that nothing clogs the chan- 
nel of expression to others. 

"Now if God is love and everywhere present, 
then we live in an atmosphere of Love for 'In Him 
we live and move and have our being.' Let us 
establish a better sense of this Atmosphere of 
Love in which we constantly move. First, it is 
unchangeable and all powerful, and you are com- 
pletely submerged in it and must of necessity be 
governed by it. As a fish is completely submerged 
in water, so man is submerged, surrounded by 
mind, and as the fish of the sea find his supply, 
health and happiness in the medium of water, so 
man must be fed, clothed and cared for by the One 
Mind or Atmosphere of Love that completely en- 
velopes him. In fact, in establishing a fuller and 
better knowledge of this Atmosphere of Love, we 
lose sight of ourselves completely, and thus in 
losing sight of self we have stepped aside and a 
complete healing, regeneration or expression of 
Love has taken place — sl full expression of His 
love has been made manifest to the flesh. 

"It is quite as impossible for man to reflect 
only a part of the qualities of mind or of this At- 
mosphere of Love in which he moves and lives, as 
it is for a fish to be partially dry and yet remain 
submerged in the ocean, or to swim half way out 
of the water.. If man reflects one of the qualities 
of mind he must reflect them all. If he reflects 
life, he must also reflect supply, health, happiness 

19 



and success. He cannot move into a place where 
any of these qualities are wanting (there are no 
desert spots in eternal mind) any more than a fish 
could swim into a dust heap in the ocean. 

"Comes now our impersonal work, both for 
ourselves and others. As we establish a better 
idea of God as ever present Love and fix our 
attention on this one quality, we unconsciously 
help ourselves and also any one upon whom our 
thoughts may rest, because if we are submerged in 
Love nothing else of an opposite nature can enter 
or effect us, and we partake of the qualities of this 
atmosphere just as the fish is naturally wet; not 
through any effort on his part — he does not try 
to be wet — he just is. When we come to the point 
that we can consciously feel that we are living in 
this Atmosphere of Love, we cannot help reflect- 
ing the qualities of it. We are one with God, for 
we are 'image and likeness,' and what shall separ- 
ate us from the Love that He bestows?" 



20 



if Msxfttt Mm 



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ARLY on the morning of market day 
Abd Allah arose and awakened Jethro. 
June was yet young and hovered over 
the distant hills with an enchanting 
freshness. A million diamond dew drops 
caught and held the sun a prisoner, reflecting the 
mysteries of the rainbow. Out over the valley, 
which was lavishly dotted with flowers and trees, 
a transparent purple mist foretold the coming 
day. Abd Allah was happy. He felt the thrill that 
only a mind filled with goodness could feel on the 
contemplation of the beautiful. Life was so worth- 
while — there was so much good to be had for the 
mere reaching out — there was a constant tonic of 
youth and health to be drunk from the wonders of 
nature. 

After having partaken of breakfast he and 
Jethro started toward the east gate with their 
small load of vases. 

"Does not the morning, with its mystery, 
thrill you?" he said to Jethro, and without waiting 
for his answer he continued, filling his lungs with 
the fine morning air: "It is good to be alive. It is 
good to know that you are a perfect man, made in 
His image and likeness." 

"A perfect man?" questioned Jethro. "Just 
look, Father Abd, who comes there," and as Abd 
looked he saw Jaraj, the herder, coming along. He 
was a pitiful looking piece of humanity to be sure; 
quite bent over and in ill health. "Is he, too, a per- 

23 



feet man?" asked Jethro as they passed on their 

way. 

They walked on in silence for a while and Abd 
Allah said: 

"Jethro you speak some Greek, a little Egyptian 
and Arabic, and in all these languages they have a 
different symbol for the same numbers. That is, 
you can give expression to the quantity two in as 
many different tongues as you know, and while 
the material symbol in each instance will differ, 
the quantity remains the same. It is eternally 
two, and if every symbol that was used to express 
two were swept away, the quantity two would re- 
main just the same. Age will not add to it nor 
take from it. This is essentially true of all reali- 
ties. So is it with the perfect man, made in His 
image and likeness : the substance of him is per- 
fect and good and cannot change though the ma- 
terial symbol that represents him may be anything 
from a hunch-back to an athlete. 

"Further, Jethro, when you see a column of 
figures, some of which are perfectly drawn and 
others which are poorly made, do you stop for a 
minute and say: 'That two is poorly made; I can- 
not give it the full value of two?' No. You give 
it the full value without ever a thought of taking 
from it or adding to it because it is larger than 
the rest.' In your mind it has a fixed value or sub- 
stance and that is what you give it, no matter 
what the symbol looks like. Then is it not our 
duty to give to the material symbol of man his full 
inheritance — that of perfection and goodness — 

24 



and to look beyond the material symbol, just as 
you do in figures, and reckon the absolute quan- 
tity and substance of Man made in His Image and 
likeness ? 

"What use would men have for criticism if 
they had this fact firmly established in their 
minds ? And what a wonderful help and stimulus 
the world would receive again, to know that every 
man is perfect, just as he was created." 

"Then Criticism is really 'Bearing False Wit- 
ness' against thy brother, is it not?" said Jethro, 
"and what other motive could prompt bearing 
false witness against a man than hate?" 

"Yes," said Abd Allah, "Criticism is hate, and 
with hate in our minds love cannot enter or 
abide." 

"But another good point to me," said Abd 
Allah, as they walked along, "is that while the 
material symbol for man may appear distorted, 
with the proper thought and love he can be made 
straight and healed of his infirmities. Think of 
the symbol of the perfect man who lay at the pool 
of Bethesda for thirty and eight years, and how 
all that time he was unable to help himself. Is it 
not appalling to note the lack of right thinking on 
his part. There he lay, a son of the All Powerful — 
and ^image and likeness' — governed by the one 
omnipresent, omnipotent law of good, unable to 
move himself. And all the while the men at the 
court were giving him the lie, and refusing to 
count him as a perfect man, until one fine day 
Jesus came by and saw him as a perfect man — 

25 



with the result that the thirty and eight years of 
bondage disappeared and the man came into his 
heritage of dominion. 

"What disease or evil condition can present 
itself as permanent when we stop for a minute to 
realize that we are perfect, created so by God and 
sustained eternally by Him? 

"Was it not through Daniel's realization of 
the indestructible qualities of the perfect man that 
he escaped the jaws of the lions? He put their 
laws of matter to naught by knowing that the 
perfect man was indestructible. 

"But it is necessary that we do more than de- 
clare this truth of perfection— having 'done all — 
stand;' stay put — and we see that though Daniel 
proved the powerlessness of the lions immediately 
he entered the den, yet he had to remain (stand) 
there all night. Tatience must have her perfect 
work'." 



26 



Kbh AUal|*fi pitibB^iJltg 




WAKE thou that sleepeth;" get some of 
the now-ness into your thinking. Don't 
wait to die to get into heaven, "Behold 
the kingdom of Heaven is at hand;" it 
is within you. 

What is heaven? It is happiness and joy; it 
is right thinking and right acting. It is making 
obstacles stepping stones instead of stumbling 
blocks. It is getting plenty of blue sky and sun- 
shine into your mind. 

All about you lie infinite possibilities. Oppor- 
tunity and fortune literally plead with you to take 
them in. Fate is the blind belief of the fearful — 
it is the great safety-valve for failure and stag- 
nation. Failure is the letting go of your grip. 
There is no such a word as failure to the right 
thinking man. True, material conditions may 
change, but with the destruction of the shell of an 
egg we have an advanced state of progress, that 
will eventually fly off into the great free sky, 
thrilling v/ith joy. 

Failure to the material sense may be 
opportunity and fortune forcing you to make a 
step forward that you have heretofore been reluc- 
tant in taking. Don't lose heart because you are 
down and out. You can always start over — there 
is always a new day. Success is not measured in 
dollars and cents ; it is measured in happiness and 
contentment. Happiness is not an elusive some- 
thing that keeps dodging you, but it is a perma- 

29 



nent state to the right thinking man. Have some 
of the qualities of a cork — refuse to stay under. 

Get plenty of joy into your thinking. Try 
singing instead of mourning. Try realizing what 
it is to be a son of the Most High— a son of the 
King. Get some of the nobility that is yours into 
your thought. Be noble. 

Protect yourself by keeping your thought 
filled with goodness and truth — if it is full of good 
there is no room left for evil or fear. Evil think- 
ing is the plague that produces all sickness, sin 
and death — and right thinking corrects this. You 
cannot think death and life at the same time; 
either one or the other holds the floor. Neither 
can you think riches and poverty, health and sick- 
ness. Be sure then that you are thinking on the 
right side. When you are thinking right, no 
"plague shall come nigh thy dwelling." 

Have you lost your material home ? Then you 
are now ready to enter into your divine estate, and 
as the synonym for home is happiness (not house) 
and happiness is a state of mind, you find yourself 
already established in your new abode, which is 
filled with large courts wherein you may walk in 
peace. This kind of home is "Under the shadow 
of His mighty Wing." The losing of a material 
home is. like the dropping off of the cotyledons of 
a tiny plant. The plant has lost nothing in parting 
with this impedimenta — but is free and ready to 
grow heavenward. 

Have you lost your best friend; did he betray 
you? This may help you to know that to lean on 

30 



your own understanding is a dangerous thing, and 
further that God is the only true friend of man, 
and he is unchangeable and eternal; neither does 
he call for special favors, loans, etc., but only for 
fair thinking about Him. 

Have you lost your fortune ? All substance is 
His, and the fact that you are His perfect child 
gives you ample supply. He is responsible for your 
sustenance — you can of yourself do nothing. You 
did not ask to come here ; He placed you here and 
He will provide. He is able to do all things, and to 
prepare a table before you in the presence of your 
enemies (in the presence of want). Plant your 
gran of mustard seed (faith) and watch it move 
mountains (doubts and fears). 

When you act, act as one having authority. 
Put on the full armour of God. Don't imagine that 
because you have a sword in your hand you are 
safe. Put on the Helmet of right thinking — the 
Brestplate of righteousness. Be "shod with the 
preparation of the gospel." Have your shield 
engraved with the words, "Who is so great a God 
as our God?" Then your two-edged sword of wis- 
dom will cut through the enemy's lines. 

"Patience must have her perfect work" Re- 
member that it takes repeated good thoughts to 
accomplish. One good, strong thought, offset by 
the rest of the day in evil thinking will not accom- 
plish results for good. Remember that the walls 
of Jerico did not fall down the first time they were 
encircled — but they did not give up, knowing that 

31 



when good thoughts enough were directed against 
it, that it would crumble away, and it did. 

Do you suffer because your grandfather ate 
sour grapes? He's the one that should have suf- 
fered for that, and not you. You probably, out of 
your own good wisdom, would have selected sweet 
grapes. Don't let the stupid law of heredity bind 
you — put it to flight with the powerful command, 
"Call no man your father, save God." What belief 
of inherited sin or sickness can withstand this ? 

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for all things 
are possible to the man who puts his trust abso- 
lutely in God, and who knows, with Him all things 
are possible — here and now. 






32 



all|0 Mm W^i^ Irfitat^ft 



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NCE more the sturdy almond tree had 
covered itself with a sheet of snowy- 
white blossoms, and once more the 
caressing breeze of spring had wooed 
each blossom and allured it from its 
resting place. One by one they had launched out 
from the parent stalk and floated in a zig-zag 
course to the ground. Unconsciously the unfold- 
ment of life goes on from one stage to another, 
and now the almond tree, which only a short time 
ago stood a silver mass of loveliness, under the 
sapphire dome of the heavens, caught a mellow 
tint of autumn, and again the ever active, ceaseless 
progress of life allured, one by one, the yellow 
leaves from the tree. 

Out over the land, autumn had painted with 
a lavish hand. Here a dash of deep purple and 
there a bank of gold. The distant foot-hills rose 
like tongues of flame against the deep blue of the 
sky. Here and there a deep green tree which had 
not yet been nipped by the frost, and again in the 
distance could be seen the delicately etched limbs 
of trees already bare. 

There was a mellowness in the air — a dreamy 
wistfulness that caused one to sit and wonder— to 
sit and dream. And it was on this day that Abd 
Allah sat pondering and dreaming over the 
wonders of life. 

At length he resumed his work. "Come hither 
Jethro,'' he called to the boy. "Bring your harp, 
for I would that you sing to me— sing and play to 

35 



me that I may catch some of this mystic beauty of 
the autumn into my vase, that in years to come 
some one gazing on it may take hope again." 

"What is hope?" said Jethro, for he was fond 
of hearing Abd Allah explain the abstract. 
"Hope," said Abd, "is the red bird singing of 
spring on the bleak February bow ; it is the spark 
of light which the traveler sees at the other end 
of the 'slough of despond.' It is the early spring 
lily peeping through the snow. But I would listen 
to thee a while. What will you sing to me?" 

So Jethro, taking his harp, began: 

The wheel of the potter turns round and round, 

Shaping has various wares. 
Some to hold water and some to hold wine, 

And some to hold flowers fair. 
Into each vessel the potter will mould 

A big thought of usefulness, 
And thus will the thought of the potter live, 

And ever wait to bless. 

God is the potter and man is the clay. 

He works out infinite plan. 
Each idea has a mission to fill. 

For each is a perfect man. 

At this point in his song Jethro was inter- 
rupted by the loud calling of a voice at the gate. 
Laying aside his harp he ran across the court and 
gazed out. "It is Haasn and his mule." he called 
back to Abd Allah, "coming over the hill He is 
staggering; drunk on new wine." 

36 



"Poor Haasn/' said Abd Allah; "he is the mam 
who resisted." 

"Resisted," said Jethro. "What do you mean, 
Father Abd Allah? Is he not at this moment in 
the power of his worst enemy — wine? And has 
he not repeatedly faught against it with no 
avail?" 

"Yes," said Abd, "and in constantly resisting 
the temptation to drink has he not made it some- 
thing real — a personal devil which has absolute 
power over him ? Do not the sacred scrolls teach 
'resist not?' Man is superior to matter and it^ 
laws, for he is 'image and likeness/ He is not bid- 
den to obey every whim of the mortal senses. H« 
has been given dominion and sonship. God is the 
Law ; and did not Christ Jesus come to 'fulfill the 
law?' — not the laws, and the law that he came to 
fulfill was the law of dominion ; and did he not saj 
'The works that I do ye shall do also — and eves 
greater?' 

"Remember the story of Jacob ; how he strug- 
gled (resisted) all night (in ignorance) and that 
when the morning light came (truth and light) he 
loosed the lie (stopped resisting it) and let it go. 
Is it not worth while to note that Jacob 'let it go?' 
That which he had resisted and struggled with all 
night, and v/hich had caused him to suffer he 
merely had to 'let go.' So it is with all material 
law. We hold to it ; it cannot cling to us for there 
is nothing to support it. And when I see a man 
struggling with a belief of sin or sickness I am 
reminded of a child holding a wild animal with one 
hand and fighting it with the other and then cry- 

37 



ing because it hurts him, instead of letting go of it. 

"In the case of Jacob we know not what the 
problem was, but suppose it was the temptation 
to drink that was causing him to resist and fight 
all night, and suddenly it dawned upon his con- 
sciousness 'Ye do not need to fight .... set your- 
self .... see the salvation of the Lord;' 'The battle 
is not yours, but God's.' And then the whispered 
pass word, which will lead you safely through all 
evil, 'Speak as one having authority'— 'Dominion 
over all things.' Would he, do you suppose, keep 
on fighting his temptation ? Rather would he not 
suddenly find himself superior to the whole situ- 
ation? 

"If you resist a thing, you fear it, and if you 
fear it you must endow it with power to hurt you. 
For who would resist anything that he was not 
afraid of? We are not afraid of so-called power- 
less things. 

"Meet every problem that comes to you as its 
master, knowing that God is working with you 
and that to be of one mind with Him is to be in the 
majority, for God is all powerful. The Hebrew 
children knew what it meant to be at one with 
God, and obeyed His law instead of the laws of 
matter, with a result that the flames, which con- 
sumed others, left them untouched. 

"It only took a pebble (right thought) to slay 
Goliath, who had become terrible and real through 
material thinking and reasoning, and through re- 
sisting. 

38 



"Human will-power js the blind force which 
resists things, sometimes with seeming success, 
but this only for a season. 

"The great key-note to all right work is the 
attitude that 'I can of mine own self do nothing, 
but with God all things are possible.' At one 
bound we shift the responsibility of the situation 
on God, and He is abundantly able and equipped to 
put the enemy to flight. 

"We do not struggle with the darkness in a 
room to get it out; we merely bring in the light, 
and the darkness disappears of its own self. Like- 
wise with sin or sickness, or any material law — we 
do not need to fight it ; we merely have to bring in 
the absolute truth; that because man is made in 
the 'image and likeness' of God he is eternally pro- 
te-cted and cared for." 




2[hr Hamats Whs\ Wm Mmt 



Ey iioman Whn Has llonr 




AZA was a widow who lived in a dirty, 
little hut in the crowded quarters of 
Jerusalem. Each day she went into the 
temple and cleaned the great courts. But 
Maza was very poor and as she passed 
the coffers and saw her neighbors place certain 
sums therein she felt even more poor than ever — 
she had not even the widow's mite to give, neither 
could she spare a crust of bread to anj one. And, 
further, she was unhappy because she had no 
friends. She had heard much of the Potter Abd 
Allah, and how he had helped various ones from in 
under their burdens, and one night she determined 
to pay him a visit. So, after she had finished her 
work at the temple and partaken of her meager 
meal, she turned her steps towards the dwelling 
of Abd Allah. 

It was a wonderful night with a sky that 
seemed to wholly envelope the world like a hea^^^^ 
blue vapor. The moon had not yet arisen and the 
stars were very bright and throbbed with light. 
But Maza saw none of the beauty; her eyes cast 
down; she trugged along wondering why this was 
her lot. So poor was she in spirit that she could not 
even lift her eyes to the heavens and feast her 
hungry soul on the beauty so lavishly given. 

And at last, after her long walk, she came to 
the hut of Abd Allah and found him seated in the 
court, the boy Jethro playing on his harp. 

"Abd, Abd," she called, with a note of distress 

43 



in her voice; "I am burdened with poverty — wilt 
tell me of riches?" 

Abd Allah arose and motioned Jethro to bring 
a small rug for her, on which he bade her be 
seated. They sat in silence for a while, and then 
Abd Allah began. 

"There is no man in all Judea, be he ever so 
rich, and if he possess a palace of white marble, 
and slaves, and gold and silver in abundance, who 
has among his treasures a picture as magnificent 
as you have stretched before you at this particu- 
lar moment, Maza." As he said this he pointed to 
the eastern skies where a blood-red moon was 
breaking through a rift in the long silver clouds. 
There was a telling silence as they all gazed in the 
direction he pointed. 

"First, then Maza, always feast the soul, 
and this you can do as often as you will in 
the day or night, for the heavens cover all 
— and it is the great canvass of God — each day is 
a rare master-piece, painted and designed for you. 
Then you are not poor because of the lack of 
beauty, for the whole world is streaming over 
¥7ith it." 

"Go out into the sunshine, Maza, and lift your 
hands to high heavens and let your soul soak full 
of the blessed sunshine and blue sky. Let the oil 
of joy — the sheer joy of living — stream about you, 
and forget the material counterfeit of gold in your 
appreciation of the real gold of the sun. Let the 
sunlight of strength, and trust in God dry up the 
stagnant morasses of worry and care. Pour some 

44 



of the dew of life eternal on to your blasted hopes 
and see them blossom forth into greater and 
nobler promises than before. Let the star dust 
light your way, instead of the dust of material 
ways cut off your vision of the stars." 

Maza stirred a little; already she felt an up- 
lifted thought — a stirring within, and Abd went 
on. 

"There was once a certain woman who was 
very poor in thought and, in a state of desper- 
ation, she cried out for help, and the one who heard 
her cry was a man who understood the power of 
right thinking. He understood where the true 
source of supply was, and he understood that God 
is mindful of His own, and that 'not a sparrow 
f alleth' without His knowledge, and he also under- 
stood ""How much greater are ye than many spar- 
rows.' So he asked the woman, 'What have you 
in your house (mind)?' and the woman pondered 
a moment and said: 'Only a cruse of Oil.' Now 
the man who understood knew the value of a cruse 
of oil (joy) and how a drop of it had saved many 
an axle from w^earing away. So he said to her, 
'Borrow vessels not a few.' So she borrowed ves- 
sels (made her thought receptive). Then the man 
started filling the vessels out of the cruse of oil, 
and presently they were all filled, and still the 
cruse (source) was not empty, for joy increaseth 
every time it is left to run loose, and a smile an 
inch long may stretch miles — yea! it may even 
encircle the globe. But this was not all to be done 
— now the activity was begun, it was necessary to 
continue to keep the joy moving, so he said to her: 

45 



'Go sell the oil.' Action is the law of progress. It 
is necessary to give out joy and happiness and not 
stand with our vessels full meekly waiting for 
some one to come to us. Enter some darkened 
pathway where there is need of joy and scatter 
some light of good clean thinking as you go, and 
people will find that you are not only useful but an 
absolute necessity. There is the biggest market 
in the world for joy, and the fewest dealers in it 
of any known commodity. So this woman went 
her way and as she went she found a ready market 
for her oil. 

"In the smiling mind there is no room for 
worry clouds; there is no accumulated, stale, 
thinking or care, for the smiling attitude keeps 
them at arm's length; yea, it even puts them to 
flight. This smile is not the silly, simpering, facial 
grin, but a strong, clean, healthy mental attitude 
that refuses to be downed by obstacles. 

* * * :;: 

"And it also happened that certain fishermen 
had labored all night (worked in ignorance) with- 
out success, and they were heavy hearted and dis- 
couraged, when the voice of Truth spoke to them 
and admonished them to cast their nets on the 
right side. Now literally to cast their nets on the 
right side would be casting them in the same 
waters that they had fished in all night, but they 
knew, that to cast their nets on the right side was 
merely a command to change their thought from 
one of limitation to abundance — to know that God 
is good,and that ^He knoweth that ye have need 
of these things' for is it not He that ^prepareth a 

46 



table before me in the presence of mine enemies' — 
in the presence of want, woe and famine? What 
wonder then when they cast their thought into the 
inexhaustible source of supply, that theii' nets 
were full ? 

"Maza, supply is a law of God. He it is who 
created you, and He is responsible for you. Has 
He not oft referred to you, in the sacred scrolls as 
'His Child?' Are not His promises kept? Did He 
not say, 'Seek and ye shall find . . . . ; ask and ye 
shall receive?' Is He that created you not able to 
sustain you, and that abundantly, too? Did He 
not say of man that he was created in 'the image 
and likeness?' You are His idea, perfect and 
eternal and will He not keep you? Can the re- 
flection manifest any condition that the reflector 
does not ? and are you not a reflection of His love ? 
It is good to know that you are living and moving 
and having your being in God' — and if you are 
living in this great inexhaustible source of all good 
can you want for anything? Rather I say unto 
you, reach out and take possession of your divine 
heritage. Open the doors of your thought so the 
streams of Love can flow in and out of it." 

And rising, Abd Allah continued : "Maza, what 
have you in your house?" and she answered him: 
"Gratitude and Love," and he said: "Go back to 
thy dwelling in peace and remember that Love let 
loose is like bread cast upon the water — it will re- 
turn and nourish you when most needed." 

. And Maza went her way, a song of thanks in 
her heart and her soul full of the beauty of the 
night. 

47 



ietl|ri!*B ^istig 



Just for today, dear weary heart, 
Give up thy struggles "lean on me/' 
Forget all worry, come away, 
Out where the silver brooklets play. 
Out in the fields where daisies fair, 
Nod smilingly, without a care. 
Where poppies greet thee with a flame, 
And all the air breathes forth His name. 
Amid green pastures, let us stray 
To seek and find the Perfect Day. 

Where is the Perfect Day you seek? 
Is it in valley, stream or hill? 
Is it in city, mart or field? 
Is it among the lillies fair, 
That we shall lose all earthly care? 
No, weary heart, it is not there— 
So far away you need not go. 
The perfect day is close at hand; 
'Tis in the Consciousness of man. 

Then, first, we look within the mind 
And sweep it clean from thoughts that bind. 
No room for worry, care and strife; 
No place for evil, hate or rife. 
No looking backward, just to see 
The dark, dark road that used to be„ 
But open wide the thought and find 
Flood-tides of love that fill your mind. 

And once this mind is full of love, 

A holy watchman from above 

Shall guard the portals, day and night, 

And put all evil, care to flight. 

And peace that passeth all shall be 

Thy home for all eternity. 

And He shall come and sup with thee — 

And surely on thy upward way 

Thy lips shall sing the Perfect Daj. 

51 



[Iff Ponfrr nt ^tkmir 



®lj? l^nmn of Bximtt 




NE day when Abd Allah and Jethro were 
seated at their work, two men came 
along the way madly jesticulating and 
arguing. There was strife and hatred 
manifested in their voices, and revenge 
gleamed through their eyes but, looking in 
through the open gate and seeing Abd Allah, they 
paused, then entered the court at his beckoning. 
But immediately they entered they began to argu- 
ing again, and both at the same instant tried to 
place his case before Abd Allah. 

"Peace, peace, my brethren; why this dissen- 
tion. Know ye not the power of silence?" 

"No," said one of the two in a surly voice. 
"But we would," rejoined the other. They sat 
down on the rugs which Jethro proffered, and 
waited for Abd Allah to speak. 

"You, Hajah and Casper, are Christian men 
and have read much in the sacred scrolls — and well 
call to mind it is written that the blessed Savior 
was laid to rest in the tomb, and how a massive 
stone was placed at its mouth and a guard put 
over it. And what happened in the silence of the 
tomb? Jesus, the Christ, worked out the solution 
to the material lie called death; he proved it to be 
nothing but a belief, and something to be over- 
come. But note that he did this in the silence. In 
the silence He went back to the real cause of man 
and listened for the guiding voice of truth — 
listened for the Word, 'which spake and it was 
done.' Could He have heard this Word in the 

55 



hub-bub of material wrangling? Was not this 
the power of silence? 

"To the mortal sense silence may seem deatl^ 
yet how often is the ugly grub of thought changing 
form and working out his problem in silence, and 
at the appointed time he breaks the material law 
of limitation and floats off in a freedom before 
unknown. 

"God pervades the silence, and it is only in the 
silence that we can hear the voice of the great 
Omnipotent Guide." 

"But Abd Allah," interrupted one of the men, 
"How can we feel the Power of Silence in our own 
work?" 

"By being still, by quieting the material senses, 
one after another, and withdrawing into the 
'secret place of the Most High.' And after you 
have shut off every material clammoring you can 
then hear the 'still, small voice,' which says, 'Peace 
be stiir to all that is unlike God, good. This 'still, 
small voice' was the voice that spoke 'and it was 
done/ and it is the voice which said 'Let there be 
light' (understanding) and mortal chaos and 
darkness faded away." 

"But when I would enter the 'Secret Place of 
the Most High'," said Hajah, "a million little 
voices clamor for admittance, first one thing and 
then another, and I cannot enter the Silence of 
which you speak." 

"It is good to remember," said Abd Allah. 
'Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man 
hear my voice, and open the door (of his mind), I 

56 



will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he 
with me.' At the same time evil is knocking for 
admittance, the Christ is also standing waiting to 
be let in, to sup with you. Which will you admit — 
to which will you give the most power? Does not 
the very thought that Christ is standing there 
knocking, put to flight all evil and sinful thoughts ? 
— for they cannot live in his pure presence. 

"Then, brethren, before you argue and dissent 
about a question and become angry and hate one 
another just step into the closet of your conscious- 
ness and shut the door on all material voices and 
listen to this wonderful voice, which will guide 
you right. 

"Don't quabble with yourself mentally and 
wear yourself out with your arguments — either 
audible or silent arguments — but be firm and know 
that God is the source of your intelligence, and 
that right must prevail. Then when you have re- 
ceived your guidance you can issue forth from 
your closet, clad with a newness of spirit and love 
and righteous judgment; for, my brethren, you 
only want what is absolutely right, and when you 
know that the law of right is ever operative, how- 
can else come to pass ? 

"What is so impressive as silence, and what 
carries with it so much dignity? It is the very 
essence of self-control and authority, and what is 
more pitiful than a man overcome of his anger? 
The noisy breakers beat against the shores in vain 
—they only carry with them destruction, but the 
mighty silent depth of the ocean carries a fleet on 
its bosom. 

57 



" 'Be Still and Know that I am God'— be stiU 
and listen for the underlying melody that per- 
meats all silence. It is the melody of life. It is 
the power that leads beside still waters and green 

pastures." 




5S 



©!t^ ^nnBl^ (Diyat ^tsivth m Sarkn? as 




OW it happened there lived, near the east 
gate of the city a nobleman, his wife and 
daughter, whom they called Rhetta, be- 
cause her skin was as the lily leaf 
turned to the morning dew, and her eyes 
were soft like the eyes of a deer. And she was v/ell 
beloved, this maiden Rhetta, and was daily found 
doing good deeds and bestowing kindnesses on 
those who were unhappy. But, the Last enemy 
called at the Palace one day and claimed as a toll 
for his visit this lovely maiden. 

All the country round about grieved for the 
fair Rhetta, and a great flower-laden procession 
followed her to her last resting place. The unhappy 
nobleman and his wife were as people without 
hope in the world and the marble palace was hung 
in black, and the doors and windows were shut. 
Moreover, in time, the lovely garden, wherein 
Rhetta was wont to spend many happy hours 
among the flowers and exquisite marbles that 
adorned it, became a weed patch. Thistles replaced 
the roses and ugly wild vines clung to the marbles 
and strove to conceal their beauty and v/hiteness. 
It was the house desolate; it bespoke of the futility 
of human existance, and from a thing of beauty 
it had become an eye-sore. 

Now the man and his wife spent their time on 
the roof of the house (which is the custom in Jeru- 
salem), which looked out over the city on one side 
and towards the wonderful Lebanon on the other. 
June was at her height and the wild flowers which 

61 



dotted the hills and vallies ran in a riot of coloring, 
enhanced by the highly colored butterflies darting 
from flower to flower, and birds drifting and 
floating through the clear, transparent air — a 
song streaming from their throats, "Come out and 
live—live — live." Everything called out to the man 
and his wife to live and be happy. But so far were 
they sunk within themselves and their sad 
thoughts that they heeded nothing. 

And it was on this very day that Abd Allah 
and Jethro were returning from the market where 
they had been to sell the vases Abd had made, and 
Abd Allah went on ahead, while Jethro came along 
behind with the mule. He was playing a strange 
little melody and setting words to it, to suit his 
-a melody with an appealing minor strain 



it in : 

Life is a Circle which has no end, 
Death does not break the link, 
Death is but sleep. 
Life is eternal, naught can be lost,. 

And the woman sitting in sadness, stirred on 
hearing the strange music, and said to her hus- 
band, "What means this strange youth, saying 
'Life is a circle which has no end'?" And her hus- 
band, looking after them, said: "Tis Abd Allah 
and his boy returning from the market. He is said 
to have a strange philosophy which has explained 
away many of the cares of this life, and into the 
mind of this boy Jethro he has put his philosophy 
so that he sings it and accompanies himself on his 
harp." 

62 



"Would he could heal my broken heart," said 
the woman. So the man, rising, struck a brass 
gong, and a black slave appeared. "Master, at 
your service," he said, bowing low. "Go after the 
man and boy who have just passed, and bid them 
as my guests to rest a while with us." 



When Abd ascended to the roof which was 
draped in black he saw the depressed man and his 
wife. And the man, rising, said: "Greetings to 
thee, Abd Allah," and, bowing, he motioned him to 
a floor rug which the slave had spread for him. 
Jethro,, who stood behind, was opened-eyed in 
wonderment. He it was who saw the exquisite 
white marbles hung with black, and the great 
flower urns standing empty at one side. Nor were 
the rich oriental rugs lost to his view. All the 
riches in the world are as naught without the 
proper mental attitude of real substance. 

The servant, moving noisely about, brought 
cigarettes and black coffee. 

"We have heard your boy singing a strange 

song," the man said. 'Life is a circle—* What 
meaneth the youth?" And then, continuing, he 
said: "And what meaneth 'Death does not break 
the link'?" Abd made ready to reply, but the 
nobleman said further "Has not our beloved 
Rhetta been carried away by the Last enemy — 
and taken from our sight?" 

Then Abd Allah answered and said: "Be- 
iieveth thou in God, and that He is everywhere?" 

63 



"We believe in God and that He is good," thej 
replied in unison. 

"Knoweth not that He is Life eternal, and 
that he is changeless? Then how can death happen 
in an infinity of life? Can God change, or one of 
His ideas pass into oblivion?" 

There v/as a profound silence fell upon them 
as Abd Allah continued : "Life may change form 
— the tadpole in yon pool would not forever remain 
an insect, but he would enlarge his capabilities, 
and by changing form" he becomes a frog, losing 
none of his former capacities, but gaining an ad- 
vanced state of progress. Does the ugly grub die 
when it changes into a radiant butterfly, and is 
that which is left behind, either grub or butterfly? 
Would you have the beautiful butterfly, who had 
cut through the ugly cocoon and out-grown the 
narrow confines of the grub state, return to its 
former condition? And what other than a selfish 
motive could prompt your wishing for its return? 
It is plain that it would not be good for the butter- 
fly, neither would it make it happy, yet it might 
satisfy your selfish desire to possess. Then when 
our loved ones in their line of progress have burst 
into a freedom that we know not of, is it for their 
good and happiness that we wish them back, or is 
it to satisfy our selfishness? 

"Is not then death, in its proper sense, prog- 
ress? Is it not unfoldment? Does not the flower 
unfold at the expense of the falling away of the 
seed- — yet is the seed dead? 

"Did not the Great Master prove that death 
was a myth, when he rolled away the stone from 

64 



the tomb, which stone had seemingly set the seal 
on the reality of death? Did He not say 'Our 
friend Lazarus sleepeth; I go to awaken him?' 
And then his great command, 'Loose him and let 
him go' — free him from the winding sheets of 
mortal belief, which says that death is the end, 
that it is real and terrible, that it is the outcome 
of life. Again I say unto you, Life is eternal. 

"Can you conceive of God who is ever present, 
becoming inactive? God, good is perpetual mo- 
tion, and we his perfect ideas and expressions of 
His thought, are controlled and governed by this 
perfect law of Activity; then inaction or death 
can never occur, though the idea of expression 
may change form. 

"Who, then, knowing this law of progress, 
will try to shackle it by wishing and sorrowing for 
those who have gone before and have cut through 
the shell of materialism? Does the mother grieve 
when her child has laid aside his primmer and 
taken the next book in hand— rather does she not 
rejoice and say 'He is progressing; knowledge and 
understanding are replacing ignorance. He is 
finding his way out of darkness, which is 
ignorance.' 

"What is it that dies? Is it man, the 'image 
and likeness' of God Eternal? Is it the perfect 
idea of God, which is sustained by Him that dies 
—and whence comes a counter power to omnipo- 
tence which destroys the works of His mighty 
Hands? 

"Are we paying the right tribute to those gone 
65 



before when we hang our walls in black and sit in 
mourning — forgetting to live and to reach out and 
help others, who are here with us? Is the garden 
yonder which is in weeds, a tribute to the loveli- 
ness of she whom you mourn? and what fainting 
heart gazing thereon would take courage and new 
hope? 

"Then I say unto you, my good people, take 
from thy windows these dark hangings and throw 
wide open the doors and let in fresh air and sun- 
shine, and set again the garden into roses, and 
watch the desert blossom. 

" 1 am the ressurection and the Life, though 
a man were dead (igronant of true life) yet shall 
he live again/ 

"Come, Jethro, sing for us." 
I will say of the Lord 
He is my refuge most High ; 
He is life eternal, and man cannot die. 
Death is a dream, in Truth we awake 
And every mortal law God surely breaks. 



And as they again wended their way along 
the street, Jethro sung his song of "Life is a 
Circle," and the woman, lifting her eyes, smiled 
through tears and said: "Life is a Circle, there 
is no death." 



OD 



K/' 



f^ 




DGA, the beautiful, the adored, the well 
beloved and idol of her father's heart, 
had just finished her bath in her beau- 
tiful white marble Roman bath, over 

which presided two statues of youth, 

supporting in their hands a light which cast the 
palest green tinge over the water and the marble 
fittings of the room. Her maids, two of them, 
were massaging and rubbing her with precious 
oils and perfumes of the orient, while a third black 
slave stood with a huge gorgeous fan, gently 
swaying. 

As she sat in the midst of this oriental luxury, 
reclining on a long marble bench, over which was 
throv/n a rich piece of crimson stuff, she looked 
very much like she might have been a wonderful 
bit of marble — the masterpiece of some artist— 
which had been thus carelessly placed in this elab- 
orate bath, save for her wonderful raven locks 
that in their blackness almost seemed to have a 
deep purple hidden in them, which literally 
streamed over her white shoulders and back in 
great, thick ringlets. Her eyes were blue and 
steady in their gaze, edged about with long dark 
lashes, and were not unlike pools that one finds. in 
the heart of some dense forest 

She had a lithe, slimly built body, rather lean- 
ing to the sinuous type, and was wholly unlike the 
other maidens of her race. Her haughty, thin lips 
and finely chiseled features contrasted strangely 

69 



with the full sensuous beauty of other maidens of 
the orient. 

By an indulgent father she had been given the 
sobriquet of Adoree, by which name she was gen- 
erally known. Being the only daughter of a 
wealthy nobleman, and a Christian, she had been 
indulged to an extent unheard of in that country. 
In fact she even had the companionship of 
men, and her father had left the choice of a hus- 
band to her own liking — a condition long since 
cherished, but not yet attained in Jerusalem. 

Of suitors Adoree had many, and from many 
lands, for her fame as a beauty had been sung 
abroad. They had acclaimed her the m.ost beau- 
tiful woman of the orient, and had eulogized her 
in song and poetry as the "Midnight of a June 
Garden," "the Twilight of the Desert," "the 
Purple Mist of the Sunset." Her tiny, white feet 
were spoken of as possessing the fleetness of the 
deer on the snow-capped mountain. 

Now Adoree had listened to the songs of 
many lovers and had fluttered over the praises 
sung, but underlying it ail she 'felt that there was 
an emptiness, and that their songs were called 
forth only by the physical; that when her beauty 
faded then the worship and love would cease, and 
possibly sooner. "Love was so fleeting a quality 
as this" so her old nurse had told her, and taught 
hdr the secrets of beauty, and admonished her to 
stay beautiful so that her lord and m^aster might 
be pleased. But deep in the heart of Adoree there 
was a calling out for something more substantial, 



something more enduring and staple, so one by 
one she sent her lovers on their way, and one by 
one they vowed to seek a watery grave or go into 
the desert and become a sun sacrifice. 

Alas, this m^aiden who had all that material 
wealth could bring her, was unhappy, and she 
sighed as her maid clasped the heavy gold anklets 
on her pretty white ankles. 

"For what sigh you, oh, lovely Lady of the 
Midnight?" asked one of her m_aids. "You of all 
maidens are to be envied, for within your posses- 
sion is power, beauty and riches; yea, and lovers 
by the score. What more could a maiden wish 
for?" 

And Adoree, answering, said: "For love, 
Mism.aj for love," and, .pushing back the heavy 
ringlets of thick black hair, she took the golden 
head-band from the maid and adjusted it herself, 
using the green pool for her mirror. "For love," 
she continued as if talking to herself; "that is not 
physical ; for something more noble than the wor- 
ship of body, wealth and jewels. Oh, Misma, is 
there no such love ; is there nothing but the shift- 
ing transient sense of happiness?" 

"My lady, thou are unwell this day, or else 
thou art awry with some strange dream of the 
night. What more could you wish for? Have you 
not the love of a hundred men, ready to do your 
bidding?" 

"Yes, but I have not the love of one who 
knows that love is not consuming, but upbuilding 
and unfolding." 

71 



"You speak of the strange love that Abd 
Allah tells of, at the East Gate, and there are 
many that believe in it, but for me, it is naught 
but talk." 

"Who is Abd Allah," said Adoree. 

"Do you not know the potter and letterwriter 
named Abd Allah? He is said to lift a great 
burden from the shoulders of many by his happy 
philosophy." 

"At eight bells tonight we shall go to him anjd 
hear what he has to say of love," said Adore4, 
getting up. 

"But, Lady Fair, we cannot go alone to this 
remote hut of the potter. It is by the north gate 
and the way is very dark and some say it is the 
way of beggers and thieves. 

"Nevertheless," said Adoree, "we shall go. 
You shall accompany me, Misma." 

« H: ^ 4: 

The night dropped down like a heavy curtain, 
excluding the beauty of the sunset with a heavy 
mantle of clouds, but at the sounding of eight bells 
Adoree and Misma, robed in heavy travelers' 
coats, set out for the dwelling of Abd Allah. 

A high wind had set in and the heavens be- 
came the playgrounds of a million hideous cloud 
phantoms, ^ which raced across the sky in mad 
terror. 

"Let us turn back," said Misma. "It bids fair 
to be a terrific hurricane." But Adoree said, "We 
shall continue. It cannot be much farther for we 
can see the dark outline of the great wall." 

72 



Presently a reddish light flamed up in the 
heavens and faded away into a blue and died do'wn 
again, followed by a faint rumble of thunder, and 
again the maid spoke of returning: "Oh, my 
lady, shall we not take shelter and return home, 
and come again another night when it is not so 
terrible?" 

"Misma," said Adoree, "this night is not more 
unrestful than my mind. I am weary and worried, 
seeking for happiness and true love." 

■J» •!* •P' -J" 

As they neared the court of Abd Allah's 
dwelling the storm was upon them. Great bolts 
of lightning utterly tore the heavens, to be fol- 
lowed by diabolical claps of thunder that were 
deafening, then by a silence that was almost 
tangible. 

"V/ho goes there?" called Abd Allah as the 
women entered the court. "What seek you at this 
hour and in this storm ? Are not the gates of the 
city long since closed and all men safely in their 
homes?" 

"I seek thee, Abd Allah," said Adoree. "And 
I have come to thee through this storm, which is 
much akin to m_y mental state, to know of a love 
that is not physical — to know of a love that does 
not deal with passion and that will not falter. Oh ! 
Abd Allah, I ami weary of this shifting, changing 
love. Can you tell me of real love?" 

Standing there before the hut, the heavy 
cloak dropped from her shoulders and in the 
flashes of lightning Abd Allah could see her won- 

73 



drous beauty, and said: "Is this not the Lady 
Adoree, whose praise and beauty is sung by a 
thousand ballads?" "Yes," she answered, "and I 
¥7ouId know of love." 

So Abd Allah, in his direct manner, bade them 
enter and placed rugs for them. 

"God is Love, and since God is unchangeable, 
love must be likewise, and since God is everywhere 
Love must be everywhere. God is Life, and God 
is Love ; then true Life is Love and is eternal since 
Life is eternal. Love that is material is of few 
days and full of trouble — it builds upon a founda- 
tion of sand. It is elusive, for the moment you 
think you possess it, lo, it has slipped through your 
fingers and fluttered on to another. And, lastly, 
it is limited and does not belong to God; hence it 
cannot satisfy. 

"Love then is universal and reaches out to all. 
It is active goodness, and is found seeking its *own 
in another's good.' Love is true service. It is the 
veiled figure which bestows its alms at night. It 
is the helping hand that lifts the fallen and sets 
him on his feet again. It is the something in the 
mother's kiss that heals the wounded baby finger, 
and replaces tears with smiles. It is the tender 
word spoken at the right time, and it is the sheer 
joy of living, of being happy and useful. 

"Love is pure. It is the dove sipping the dew 
from the lily chalice. It is the blue that peeps 
through the dark clouds of material sense, and 
whispers that the storm is far spent. It is the 
thrill of joy that the shepherd knows when he 

74 , ". 



finds the lost sheep. It is the something in the 
hand-grasp of a long lost friend. It is the *rod and 
staff that both help and guide. 

"Love is giving — not hard gold, but good 
thoughts, thereby helping the begger to help him- 
self return to his perfect estate. 

"Love is the fulfilling of the law, and God m 
the law. 

"Love is work in the Master^s vineyard. Know 
ye not that the 'fields are white but the laborers 
(lovers) are few?' 

"Love is liberty, and by loving man properly 
we can liberate him from the bondage of material 
thinking. We can set free all the slaves that we 
are holding in bondage in our thinking by loving 
them as the children of the Perfect One." 

Now, as Abd Allah ceased speaking, there 
was a breathless silence fell upon them and each 
in his heart was praying the prayer of thanks- 
giving, for each felt the mantle of true love gently 
enfolding him. 

And Adoree, rising, said: "Love was all 
about me, and all I had to do was to put my hand 
out and take it, yet I did not know it. It was call- 
ing to me and beseeching me and yet I could not 
answer. But now I know what real love is—it is 
service; it is right thinking and consequent right 
living and doing— it is praising God, not with long 
prayers and speeches, but with silent voicings of 
gratitude and willingness." 

And as they went their way the storm, had 
spent itself and the deep blue of the night was 
beginning to peer through the clouds. And so 
they returned through the dark by-ways clad in 
the white and shimmering robes of Love. 

75 



utH mm 'iUiiat K if^twm. 



OlhT Han Wlm %mt A 3t\m^ 




FTEN were they seen together, these two 
friends, Haaj and Absolom. Wrapped 
deep in the mantle of friendship they 
even excited envy and jealousy because 
of their closeness — because of the pro- 
i:ection they offered each other. They had been 
called Damon and Pythias, for they held each 
other above all.' But one day, into this haven of 
perfect friendship and love crept a serpent. At 
first they refused to listen for a moment to its 
subtle criticisms and arguments, but the serpent 
was not to be put aside thus easily; he had not 
been destroyed, only cast aside, and again he 
came back more subtle than before, and at length 
one of them yielded to the alluring voice of wrong, 
of jealousy and envy and turned against his friend 
and stabbed him to the heart. Not that he stabbed 
him with a knife of steel, but with a sword of hate, 
which cut deep and spilled the life blood of their 
friendship. 

And one day he came to Abd Allah, this man 
who had been betrayed. He was dejected and 
downcast, for he had loved his friend well. And 
Abd Allah, looking up from his work, said: 

"Greetings, Haaj; where is Absolom, for to 
see one of you is to see both." And Haaj, v/itli 
sorrowful words, told the story of his lost friend, 
and said to Abd Allah : 

"Abd Allah, thou knowest v/ell that I laid 
upon hira fine linens and purple and threv/ about 

his neck a golden chain, and did show him prefer- 

79 



ence in all things, and then, when another came 
and whispered in his ear suggestions of distrust, 
was it not he that run me through with the sword 
of hate and left me by the wayside bleeding almost 
unto death by the wounds his cruel actions and 
words had inflicted, and left my faith in man a 
shattered thing?" 

And Abd Allah, rising, put his arm about 
Haaj and said: "Peace be unto you, Brother 
Haaj. Recall you not the First Law, ^Thou shall 
have no other gods before me?' and were you not, 
in a measure, making your friend a god? Were 
yon not setting him up as a something to be looked 
up to above all else ? and even deifying his person- 
ality? Was it not for him that all the pearls of 
your thinking were saved? Then count it not a 
loss but a gain that the law of progress has forced 
you to 'Lean not on your own understanding,' and 
further to put not your trust in the shifting, 
changeable material something called man, but to 
even turn, first to God, who is good, and who is thy 
true friend. 

Count him then not thy enemy, but thy friend 

for he has once again brought you into contact 
with God and restored you to rightful sonship. 

"And because he has snatched your pearls 

and trampled them under foot, does it not teach 
you to guard with greater care your pearls 
(thoughts) in the future and cast them not down 
again? They are precious and if any man seek 
them, be not slow in giving, but do not force them, 
else the swinish desire in man will rend you. In 

80 



place of your pearls of love and good thinkmg, he 
would cast over your head jets of hate and deceit. 
These, I bid you, trample under foot, for they are 
not worthy of else. 

"Look yonder at the dome of the Mosque of 
Omar. See how it stands against the blood-red 
sunset. Is it not like a splendid white pearl in a 
glass of wine? Yea, like a stupendous reproduc- 
tion of Cleopatra's glass, of wine in which she tried 
to dissolve the last emblem of purity that she pos- 
sessed, that she might consume it. That she might 
consume purity and scorch its white robes with 
the heat of the Flesh pots of Egypt. But, as with 
Cleopatra, though purity and goodness were sub- 
merged in the wine, they were only hidden, and 
not destroyed, so with your love for your friend: 
it is only hidden in the maddening intoxication of 
the wine of mortal hate, and when he shall have 
drained the glass of its bitter contents and wall- 
ered in the slime of his own mistake he will find 
this pearl, still unsoiled and untouched, and will 
prize it as the 'pearl of great price.' 

"Not hate, but pity, is what should fill your 
heart — the pity that came to the master, when he 
looked out across the sea of faces that bespoke 
revenge, hatred and anger, and lifted up his eyes 
and said: 'Forgive them for they know not what 
they do.' 

"Love more; that is your key-note, but not the 
selfish human love that possesses, but the love that 
liberates and makes free; and remember, If I be 
lifted up (purified in thought), I shall draw all 
men unto me.' 



"Was it iK)^; sadd of tibe Maater, *When ti»y 
father and mother forsake thee I will take thee 
up?' Then can you want for a closer friend than 
he that marketh the falling of each sparrow? 

"Go feed among the lilies, Haaj; 'tis not 
your part to suffer because another has offended 
you. He is the one to suffer and will in pro- 
portion as you rise above its power to touch you, 
as you are superior to it, for it will then find it 
has no abiding place in your thought and return 
to its own source to destroy itself. 

•*When his words rent thee sore, was it not 
like the devil that was cast out of the dumb which 
rent him sore? If there is aught within you that 
can rend you sore, it does not belong there and 
should be removed, for *No plague shall come nigh 
thy dwelling/ 

"Selfish human friendship is like a grain of 
mustard seed which is tightly grasped in the hand 
—it cannot grow nor develop, and is worthless. 
The right kind of friendship is like a mustard seed 
which is planted in fertile soil — ^it is constantly 
developing and while it may be the joy of one, it is 
not shut out from others. There is enough 8un» 
shine for all, so is there enough friendship and 
love for all" 




I 



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